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Down But Not Out

by Drew Clements westofmiskatonic@gmail.com

This week we'll be doing another newer book that I believe could turn out to be this year's best new title. Unfortunately, not enough people know about it. But that's why I'm here! To inform the uninformed. To educate the uneducated! To... damn, I'm all out. Anyway, here it is: Godland #1 - "Cosmic Wheels in Motion" Original Release Date: July 2005 Writer: Joe Casey Artist: Tom Scioli Letterer: Rob Steen Colorist: Bill Crabtree Designer: Richard Stakings Publisher: Erik Larsen Something's coming our way. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida has it on their screens and it's barreling down on Earth from the cosmos. Just what is it and is it dangerous? In Washington, D.C., Commander Neela Archer is meeting with General Brigg to discuss her brother, Adam Archer. Things have changed in the real world; it's much more dangerous and General Brigg wants to secure Commander Archer's cooperation, as well as learn how to utilize her brother and his fantastic powers for the good of this new world. Commander Archer seems a bit annoyed by the absurdity of the situation, but continues participating in it. In the middle of their conversation, Brigg receives a phone call. There's a meteor on its way to Earth! The good General instructs the person on the other end of the line to contact Infinity Tower in Manhattan, the home of the cosmically powered Adam Archer, with all of the information they have. In the background, Commander Archer sighs, "Here we go again..." Stella, the communications expert at Infinity Tower in Manhattan, receives a call from Commander Archer. Neela informs the woman of the DataStream that is on its way. Stella taps a button and opens up communication with the rest of the building. In another room somewhere else in the massive tower, Adam Archer hears the call. A massive meteor is on about to hit Earth in China and it's not just some ordinary rock; it's has "significant organic readings." Adam enters a large silo, stands in the middle, and accepts his mission. From the side of Infinity Tower, a single, illuminated figure darts into the sky. Passing over the untrusting public below, Adam contemplates their fears, "They still don't know what to make of me. Can't say I blame them..." Flashback! Four years ago and just, oh, a few miles away on the surface of Mars, Commander Adam Archer has found himself very much alone. He's the sole survivor of the Explorer Seven Mission, where he and his crew were the first to walk on the red planet after their crash landing. Checking his oxygen supply, Archer notes the probability of forty hours worth remaining. Instead of waiting to die, Archer begins exploring. It has been two days now since Adam first checked his oxygen supply. He's walked seventeen miles to a mountainous area, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Olympus Mons, the tallest known mountain in our solar system. Climbing up the side of a slope, the very fact that his air is about to run out floating around in his mind, Adam slips and falls. When he regains his wits, he notices the faceplate on his astronaut suit has cracked; the suit is depressurizing, yet he's still very much alive! Sitting up, Adam notices something very strange: a lone, mechanical monstrosity... on Mars! The Present! Speeding through the air, Adam has entered China and is at the crash site of the meteor: the Great Wall of China. Unable to see much from the smoke in the air, Archer lands in the midst of it, suddenly aware of a gigantic four-legged creature! Flashback! Adam approaches the strange mechanical thing. As soon as his foot hits the floor of the structure, something strange happens. Suddenly there are multiple copycats of him, surrounding him! Without warning, they all fire a green beam from their eyes into Adam. The Present! Without much provocation, Adam attacks the monster, which seems to be emitting an unknown language. After a short tussle, the monster eventually grabs Adam up in his jaws, but to Archer's surprise, something entirely different than death occurs. In his mind, Adam sees another world; it's the place where this being came from! It has masters! It's an... emissary from another world?? The Arctic Circle! A tower of cold metal juts out high above the snow. Inside a hero, Crashman, is being tortured by a very cruel villain. Something catches this evil woman's eyes though: the television news. Apparently a meteor has crash-landed in China and an alien creature has emerged from it! Adam, confused as to why the monster hasn't ripped him in half, lashes out. After getting loose, the hero considers the possibility that this alien is trying to communicate with him. How can he know for sure though if he can't understand its tongue? Can he really risk letting it go? In the background of the battle, the Chinese army arrives, ready to destroy the space invader. Unfortunately for them another group arrives. With the help of a molecular scrambler, this new group takes out the Chinese army's small group of forces. Back at the battle, Adam relents and attempts to communicate with the creature. Unfortunately, the same problem still exists: he just can't understand a word the thing is saying. It looks like he doesn't have to either: Basil Cronus, a humanoid with a dome filled with water and a floating skull for a head, interrupts. He's there to "take that alien quadruped off your hands." Now that's the way to end an issue! This book is nothing but old school, Marvel/Silver Age goodness. It's like stepping into a time machine and returning to an era of super hero comics that just doesn't exist today. Sure, super heroes still exist and they're the big things, but this harkens back to the days of the original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Fantastic Four! You people know me; I'm a big sucker for that kind of thing! Joe Casey takes the feel of the 60's and early 70's era Marvel books and updates it just slightly. Honestly, if I didn't know for sure that this book was brand new, you could have easily sold me on it as a book from those eras. I've done a lot of bellyaching over the state of current comic books; the determination to somehow validate characters by making them flawed beyond belief is something I have a problem with. Sure, I want my characters flawed. That's part of the appeal; it's relatable. What's not relatable is how far people have taken it. Here though, Joe Casey writes a fun adventure book about an astronaut endowed with cosmic powers. He lives in a big tower in New York and is at the beck and call of the government. It's simple! It's cool! Tom Scioli must have hit the séance books in order to contact Jack Kirby and borrow his skills. This book has the best Kirby-a-like art I've ever had the chance to drool over. I was shocked when I first opened the book. The faces; the bodies... it's all Jack! In some ways, it feels like Mr. Kirby never left us. It's just that good! Honestly, I can't say enough good stuff about this book. For $2.99 you can escape the big summer event world of comics. It's horribly unfortunate that more people aren't picking it up. It will be a shame if this book gets canceled due to low sales. A tragedy! There's not a thing, in my eyes, that is wrong with the comic; it's flawless! Look, if you're a fan of the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby era of books, then you have to pick this up. If you're just a fan of Jack Kirby or Stan Lee alone, then yeah, pick this one up. If you're a fan of old-school comics, PICK. THIS. UP. Bottom line: just buy the book! Okay, I'm done gushing. Next week? I dunno, but it'll be... something!